Monday, November 1, 2010

Ingrid Michaelson Concert

It's about time Michelley and I went to another concert, right? Just before Halloween, Michelle and I saw Ingrid Michaelson at In The Venue. To keep things positive, I'll talk about the concert first, and the venue last. :)

The Concert:Guggenheim Grotto opened the show for Ingrid Michaelson. They were decent enough that I just might buy some of their music on iTunes. However, the show started late (see below), and then they played for over an hour. Hello -- you're openers! Keep it short & sweet so we can enjoy the main dish, please!

Michelley and I had a lovely view from the balcony.

When Ingrid Michaelson finally came out, the crowd went wild, of course. She was lively and witty and full of energy. Her voice is amazing and smooth. She played the guitar and the piano, and had two female backup singers to help fill the vocals on the favorite songs. It was amazing.

She had interesting stories and commentary in between numbers, and she kept everything super clean, which I loved.

My favorite number of the night was a song in which she used a loop on three of her microphones. She began singing a melody into one microphone, pressed a button with her toe, and moved to the next microphone. While the first melody repeated itself, she began singing a second over the top, and so on. It was one of the most amazing vocal performances I've ever heard. I wish you all could have been there!

The crowd.

Ingrid doing the splits. Seriously, that woman is hilarious.

I took a few videos, but this finale has got to be my favorite, because it shows her spunky personality. (Here is the original version of the song, for reference.) Can't wait to see her again in concert some day!

The Venue:In The Venue has got to be the worst concert venue I've ever been to. It appears as though they purchased a warehouse, painted it all black, ushered twice as many people inside as should logically fit, and called it a concert. Aside from the fact that it took over an hour just to get everyone inside the venue (can we not figure out how to streamline this process, people?), and the concert started late as a result, there were tarps holding the roof closed in places. Towards the end of the concert Michelley and I actually got snowed on as it began to snow outside. Wonderful.

All in all, the night was redeemed by Ingrid Michaelson's performance, but in the future I will skip concerts held at this venue...unless of course they happen to be Brandi Carlile. (I'd follow her anywhere!)